Affairs of the Nation

Michael D Higgins

Affairs of the Nation

Irish Times defies Michael Twee

IS President Michael D Higgins losing his touch? Higgins failed recently to bring to heel his normally adoring courtiers at The Irish Times despite some heavy lobbying from the Áras.... Read more »
Pearse Doherty

Affairs of the Nation

PEARSE DOHERTY’S TIMING

SINN FÉIN TD Pearse Doherty’s statement last week that he had moved in favour of abortion on request up to 12 weeks should have alerted the body politic that the... Read more »
tania-banotti

Affairs of the Nation

Tania Banotti’s pay rise

CONGRATULATIONS to Tania Banotti who has just landed the job of director of the Government’s Creative Ireland programme once helmed by John Concannon. She has got off to a very... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Josepha Madigan

Affairs of the Nation

JOSEPHA MADIGAN’S HANDLER

WITH Josepha Madigan settling in as Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, an experienced PR handler has popped up as one of her special advisers. Madigan was one of... Read more »
Eva Orsmond

Affairs of the Nation

EVA ORSMOND’S SWEET PROFITS

WITH THE Sugar Tax set to kick in on April 6, various experts have been making themselves heard on the issue. Few have proven better at generating headlines than celebrity... Read more »
irish-times

Affairs of the Nation

AIB’s Irish Times fans

DISREGARDING the vulgar populism so prevalent these days, The Irish Times has registered its appreciation of the sterling achievements of AIB chiefs. The paper’s business pages have AIB’s top two... Read more »
Fred Holroyd

Affairs of the Nation

Vindicating Fred Holroyd

A SENIOR British Army surgeon has backed Fred Holroyd’s claim that he was falsely sectioned as mentally ill once he began to complain about secret state activities. This is one... Read more »
Mary Devins

Affairs of the Nation

ANIMUS IN COURT

THE legal actions being taken against giant multinational Volkswagen by Ballyhaunis solicitor Evan O’Dwyer on behalf of a dozen or so clients in the District Court in the west took... Read more »

Pillars of Society

John Concannon

Pillars of Society

Profile: John ‘SCU’ Concannon

BECOMING the story rather than creating it is regarded as the kiss of death for any spin doctor, but John Concannon, head of the... Read more »

The Young Bloods

Liz Carolan

The Young Bloods

Young Blood: Liz Carolan

DATA MANDARIN Liz Carolan (33) is mounting a most worthy campaign against dodgy money and its influence on Irish politics. With her new transparency... Read more »

Fit to Print?

Joe McHugh

Fit to Print?

MINISTER McHUGH’S ADVISER SUED

GREG HARKIN, special adviser to government chief whip and Junior Minister Joe McHugh, has been hunted around Government Buildings, Dublin bars and restaurants and his home base in Donegal by... Read more »
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Fit to Print?

Barry Egan’s salad days

WOW! What a wild boy Barry Egan was back in the 1980s when, as he explained recently to breathless Sindo readers, he cavorted with New Musical Express “hip, intelligent” and... Read more »
Fionnan Sheahan

Fit to Print?

ABORTED INDO STORY

THE Irish and Sunday Independent have been running a campaign against their bitter rivals in The Sunday Times and its new title, The Times Ireland, for taking editorial positions on... Read more »

Last Refuge

Catherine Noone

Last Refuge

CATHERINE NOONE’S DÁIL AMBITION

FINE GAEL Senator Catherine Noone is preparing to parachute into Dublin South-West (DSW) as a candidate at the next general election and her prospects are not as remote as might... Read more »
Matt Carthy

Last Refuge

MATT CARTHY: SF’S NEW CROWN PRINCE

THE retirement at the next election of long serving Sinn Féin TD, Caoímhghin Ó Caoláin – as weighty and formidable as Mary Lou McDonald and Pearse Doherty but less promoted... Read more »
Brendan Howlin

Last Refuge

Brendan Howlin’s bland buddies

LIMPING Labour leader Brendan Howlin appeared this week at a public meeting organised by his party on the topic of Brexit. He was joined on the panel by two political... Read more »
Mairead McGuinness

Last Refuge

Fine Gael MEPs DEMAND HUGE DEFENCE SPEND

THE four Fine Gael MEPs demanding an end to Irish neutrality and massive defence spending have repeatedly protested – like the lady that doth too much – that their policy... Read more »

Student Life

Kevin Keane

Student Life

Trinity students pile on the pressure

GOLDHAWK predicted that Trinners provost Paddy Prendergast and the College Board would have a scrap on their hands over supplemental exam fee increases – and that’s exactly what they got.... Read more »

Fowl Play

Ger Gilroy

Fowl Play

Grand Slam media battle kicks off

THE RECENT spat between the IRFU and the rugby writers’ group (see The Phoenix 23/2/18) has focused attention on the battle for dominance of the rugby media scrum. The run-up... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

chip shop row lands GAA star in the soup A GAA star attacked an elderly man with his own walking stick after a row at a chip shop. Letterkenny District... Read more »

Fowl Emissions

Donald Trump

Fowl Emissions

LEO’S WINDY ‘JOKE’

There was much to cringe over in Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s lame attempt to curry favour with US president Donald Trump during his Paddy’s Day visit to Washington by bragging about... Read more »

Bird's Eye View

Karen Bradley

Bird's Eye View

LONDON SAYS NO!

WE LEARNT at least three things in the last fortnight. First, contrary to what most observers believed Sinn Féin really did want to get an executive in the north up... Read more »

The Hot Air Brigade

Bono

The Hot Air Brigade

The Hot Air Brigade

Makes me unutterably proud… our country entrusted to three wise men and their 21st century leader. Letter from Bono to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. The three wise men referred to are... Read more »

High Society

High Society

Clare McGrath

High Society

NEW LOOK HERITAGE TRUST

THE POSITION of chief executive of the Irish Heritage Trust (IHT) is about to be filled following an advertising process. It will be interesting... Read more »

High Society

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High Society

Judy Woolworth’s “public confidence”

NO DOUBT Judy Woodworth and the board of the Alfred Beit Foundation were delighted with the big spread on Russborough House in The Irish... Read more »

High Society

Belinda Strudwick

High Society

BELINDA STRUDWICK’S BIG BILLS

THE RACING of thoroughbred horses is a notoriously expensive game that only the wealthy can afford to play. One such moneybags is English property developer Roy Strudwick, who made a... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Brian Maguire

Behind the Scenes

ARTS COUNCIL RESIGNATIONS

IT IS starting to look like being a member of the Arts Council is a hazardous affair. Artist Brian Maguire has just stepped down from the board although he has... Read more »
Annie Doona

Behind the Scenes

FILM BOARD’S FEMALES

NOW THAT Annie Doona’s Irish Film Board (IFB) has a recruitment campaign under way for a production and development coordinator, maybe the agency will use the opportunity to bring some... Read more »
Jill Cousins

Behind the Scenes

HUNT MUSEUM’S HUNT is OVER

THE LONG vacant position of director and chief executive of the Hunt Museum has gone to a woman – Jill Cousin – who joins the increasingly lengthy list of female... Read more »

Sport of Kings

Kerrie Radcliffe

Sport of Kings

KERRI RADCLIFFE’S SUDDEN EXIT

READERS WILL recall (see The Phoenix 9/3/18) that Goldhawk was impressed by the size of the wedge chucked about by bloodstock agent Kerri Radcliffe on behalf of the free spending... Read more »
Ger Lyons

Sport of Kings

GER LYONS LETS LOOSE

DUNDALK RACECOURSE hosted the most valuable race held at the track recently but the €75,000 Patton Stakes – part of a new European road to the Kentucky Derby series –... Read more »
Michael O'Leary

Sport of Kings

CHELTENHAM’S MELON FLAVOUR

WHILE TRAINER Gordon Elliott will always be the golden boy as far as Mick O’Leary is concerned, Davy Russell and Henry De Bromhead surely sealed their employment for the foreseeable... Read more »
Peter Brant

Sport of Kings

PETER BRANT JOINS THE COOLMORE BOYS

THE FALL from grace of South African tycoon Marcus Jooste left a gap in the market for an investor to join the Coolmore triumvirate of John Magnier, Michael Tabor and... Read more »

Reviews

Unmanageable Sisters

Reviews

THE UNMANAGEABLE SISTERS – ABBEY THEATRE

WITH INTENSE public pressure to ensure that women are sufficiently represented on stage, what easier way for theatre managers (like the Abbey’s co-director Graham McLaren) to tick the box than... Read more »
The Lodgers

Movies

THE LODGERS – DIRECTED BY BRIAN O’MALLEY

CLEARLY, going to the cinema to see an Irish film is often a risk. Much as you hope for the best there is always the sneaking suspicion that a few... Read more »
The Hoarder

Books

THE HOARDER – JESS KIDD (CANONGATE)

THE LONDON-based Irish author Jess Kidd published her well-received first novel, Himself, in 2016. Her follow-up is narrated by Mayo-born Maud Drennan, who has the unenviable job of looking after... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Francesca McDonagh

Moneybags

McDonagh needs to close gap on AIB

IT IS still surprising that the most prudent of Irish banks – Bank of Ireland – went into overdrive during the frenzied lending boom... Read more »

Moneybags

Michael Carvill

Moneybags

Kenmare now set for takeover approach

TWO YEARS ago, Mick Carvill was facing oblivion in Kenmare Resources having lost $200m over the preceding 24 months and leaving the company in... Read more »

Brief Cases

Ivor Callely

Brief Cases

Tony Gannon’s Cerberus setback

INTERESTING to see Goldhawk’s old pal low-key Lucan businessman Tony Gannon popping up again recently in the Four Goldmines. The developer – who will be familiar to fans of Goldhawk... Read more »
Darryl Kavanagh

Brief Cases

Darryl Kavanagh’s creditors

SPARE a thought for creditors of the Seafood Shack in Cardiff. A statement of affairs for the company behind the restaurant – where Waterford businessman Darryl Kavanagh showed up earlier... Read more »
Frank Walsh

Brief Cases

More turbulence for windfarm investors

THERE’S trouble brewing for the directors of windfarm operators Sunflower Design, now that one group of disgruntled backers has lost patience with the Mayo operation and opted to head to... Read more »
The holiday home in Kiltoom

Brief Cases

Athlone solicitor Cormac Lohan’s secret recording

MORE woe for solicitor Cormac Lohan who has had a stressful first quarter of 2018. Not only has the Athlone legal eagle been named on the Revenue’s latest list of... Read more »
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Brief Cases

Cork carpenters’ bad luck

AN UNLUCKY Cork carpentry outfit was slapped with a hefty judgment by the dreaded taxman recently. Carrigaline Carpentry Services Ltd, controlled by brothers John and Brian O’Neill, had the judgment... Read more »
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Brief Cases

Liam Mulvaney’s latest setback

DUBLIN developer Liam Mulvaney’s annus horribilis continues. After being sent to the slammer for 10 days last month for contempt of court, Ulster Bank has now secured summary judgment in... Read more »
Chay Bowes

Brief Cases

Chay Bowes misses the target

HARD to luck to Dublin businessman Chay Bowes whose outdoor gear outlet and gun shop suddenly closed its doors earlier this year. Creditors of Range River Mountain Ltd (RRML), the... Read more »
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Brief Cases

Patrick Elliott’s mixed results

CAVAN builders James Elliott Construction Ltd (JEC), one of the companies at the centre of a long-running scrap over pyrite-contaminated concrete, has just got around to filing its 2016 accounts.... Read more »